Do you have small areas on your farm that are not productive? Would you like to attract more wildlife to your farm? How can management of natural vegetation benefit you and your farm? “Early successional” plants are those that first begin to grow on an area following a disturbance to the existing vegetation, such as a fire. Managing these plants that grow naturally on your farm. can increase diversity and provide habitat for common wildlife species such as deer, rabbits, quail, turkey, doves, and songbirds.......MORE

Do you have a fishable pond or stream on your property? Are people always asking you for permission to fish?
Purposes and Benefits of Managing for Fishing: Sport fishing is the number one recreational activity in the United States. Anglers often pay landowners for the opportunity to fish on private lands. Fishing private ponds can provide anglers an attractive alternative to crowded public lands. This attraction can mean profits for you. Farm ponds can offer small children and the physically challenged a safe opportunity for catching fish......MORE

Do you have a problem with: Low yields? Time & expense to repair and gullies? Small rills and channels in your fields? Soil deposited at the base of slopes or along fence lines? Sediment in streams, lakes, and reservoirs?.....MORE

Do You Have Problems With: Cows standing and drinking in a dirty stream? Cows tearing up the banks of your pond or stream when they get a drink? Livestock need to walk a long way to get water? Cows only graze around your water tank and leave the rest of the pasture over grown?.....MORE

Do You Have Problems With: Barn yards, livestock loafing areas, and other places you need to work in are a muddy mess whenever it rains, dirty water runs into streams, lakes, or roadside ditches, clean water from roofs is mixing with dirty water from feedlots, livestock are standing in mud and puddles, which is unhealthy for their feet? Runoff management means controlling water running off roofs, drive ways, feedlots, and other places around the buildings on a livestock farm.....MORE

Do you have a problem with odor from your livestock operation? Complaints from neighbors, have to close the windows when the wind changes? Can the neighbors tell when you are spreading manure? Do you store manure where everyone can see it? Has DNR gotten complaints about your operation?....MORE

Do You Have Problems Storing your Manure? Manure can be an unsightly and smelly mess, it can breed flies and be unhealthy for farm animals, it can wash into streams, ponds and lakes where it causes the water to turn green and harm the fish, if manure seeps into the water that people drink, it can make them sick, neighbors will find many reasons to complain when manure is not managed well....MORE

Do You Have Problems With: Cows knee deep in mud, muddy areas around watering troughs or feed bunks, muddy areas around buildings from equipment traffic, muddy and eroded walkways used by livestock?....MORE

How many animals should be on your pasture? If you have a limited amount of land but a flexible herd size, you probably want to know the maximum number of animals that you can graze on your pasture. How many acres of pasture do your animals need? If you have a lot of land but you want to keep a fixed number of livestock, you probably want to know the minimum amount of land your animals need to graze....MORE

How many animals should be on your pasture? If you have a limited amount of land but a flexible herd size, you probably want to know the maximum number of animals that you can graze on your pasture. How many acres of pasture do your animals need? If you have a lot of land but you want to keep a fixed number of livestock, you probably want to know the minimum amount of land your animals need to graze....MORE

Biological control is using a naturally occurring disease, parasite or predator to control a pest. Natural enemies to pests include a wide range of large and small creatures that may already be present on your farm....MORE

Biological control is using a naturally occurring disease, parasite or predator to control a pest. Natural enemies to pests include a wide range of large and small creatures that may already be present on your farm....MORE

Do You Have Problems With: Lack of annual income while long-term timber stands or fruit and nut trees are maturing ,lack of crop diversity, income risk in your farming operation, sun or wind damage on sensitive crops, lack of wildlife? Alley Cropping Can Help These Problems...MORE

Farm chemicals can affect you or your family’s health and safety if not handled properly. A farm chemical mixing or handling area is a place where a field sprayer is filled or chemicals are mixed so that any spills do not soak into the ground....MORE

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation, was founded in 1997 by a dedicated group of grassroots conservationists. Starting small, the group spent several years as an all-volunteer organization, establishing itself as a credible resource for conservation and environmental issues throughout the Saginaw Bay region. After a series of successful projects and grants, the Conservancy was able to hire a small professional staff in 2002.MORE

Wildlife are the animals that live freely in the natural environment. Wildlife includes all species--game and non-game. Songbirds are wildlife. So are snakes, toads, butterflies, and fish. These wildlife species and numerous others provide us with beauty, recreation, economic opportunities, and maintain our quality of life by regulating and modifying how our ecosystems function......MORE

Wildlife are the animals that live freely in the natural environment. Wildlife includes all species--game and non-game. Songbirds are wildlife. So are snakes, toads, butterflies, and fish. These wildlife species and numerous others provide us with beauty, recreation, economic opportunities, and maintain our quality of life by regulating and modifying how our ecosystems function......MORE

Wildlife are the animals that live freely in the natural environment. Wildlife includes all species--game and non-game. Songbirds are wildlife. So are snakes, toads, butterflies, and fish. These wildlife species and numerous others provide us with beauty, recreation, economic opportunities, and maintain our quality of life by regulating and modifying how our ecosystems function......MORE